心惊胆战 (xīn jīng dǎn zhàn) — trembling with fear; extremely frightened; terr… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A vivid chengyu meaning 'trembling with fear, terrified' — stronger and more literary than everyday 害怕. Often used to describe a whole body's reaction to horror or danger.

idiom

trembling with fearextremely frightenedterrified

Examples

，心惊胆战。
Tīng dào nà ge xiāo xi, tā xià dé xīn jīng dǎn zhàn.
When he heard that news, he was so scared he trembled with fear.
，心惊胆战。
Zǒu zài xuán yá biān shàng, wǒ xīn jīng dǎn zhàn dì bù gǎn wǎng xià kàn.
Walking along the cliff edge, I was too terrified to look down.
心惊胆战。
Nà bù kǒng bù diàn yǐng ràng rén kàn dé xīn jīng dǎn zhàn.
That horror movie made people watch it with trembling fear.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

心惊heart startles

心xīnheart惊jīngstartle

主谓Subject + predicate

胆战gall bladder trembles

胆dǎngall bladder战zhàntremble

主谓Subject + predicate

Heart startled and gall bladder trembling together picture extreme fear.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 心 comes from a drawing of a heart, now highly stylized.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

忄京惊

Meaning part形符xíngfú

忄Written in full as心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

京

京jīng惊jīng

Same sound today

惊 is made from 忄 (heart) and 京, which gives the sound.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

⺼Written in full as肉ròubody part

Sound part声符shēngfú

旦

旦dàn胆dǎn

Same sound today

胆 combines ⺼, written as 肉 when full, for a body part, with 旦 as a sound part.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

占戈战

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

占

占zhàn战zhàn

Same sound today

战 pairs 占, which gives its sound, with 戈, a weapon.

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